The first phase of construction of the Life Sciences building project on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus begins in late June with the removal of Henke Hall, the future site of the state-of-the-art science facility scheduled to open fall 2019. Construction of the four-story, 45,000-square-foot structure will begin in late 2017 and is in step with the university’s strategic directions, to provide 21st century resources for learning, teaching, research and sustainability through LEED certification.

Designed for interdisciplinary collaboration, the Life Sciences building will provide new facilities for the College of Natural Sciences biology, microbiology and botany departments along with the Pacific Biosciences Research Center and the Biological Electron Microscope Facility. It will include classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, laboratory support and office spaces to serve 1,000 students weekly and house 23 faculty members and 60 graduate students. There will also be a collaboration space meant for students to meet, share ideas and develop innovative approaches to connecting the life sciences to Hawaiʻi and the global environment.

“This is an exciting step for the future of science at UH Mānoa,” said College of Natural Sciences Dean Aloysius Helminck. “The Life Sciences building gives us opportunities to greatly enhance how students, faculty and researchers approach science. The building has been designed to be a collaborative environment that fosters interdisciplinary research and promotes diversity and sustainability at all levels. The possibilities for the next generation of UH scientists are tremendous.”

The new facility will replace Snyder Hall, which will be demolished after the new building is operational. At about $50 million, the Life Sciences building is one of the most significant capital projects on the upper Mānoa campus in 10 years and the first project undertaken after a number of national best practices were adopted by the university’s Office of Capital Improvements.

This is UH’s first design-build project, an integrated delivery process that maintains a single contractor and contract for both the design and construction of the project with a fixed, upfront cost. The Request for Proposal was issued through the Hawaiʻi Electronic Procurement System, UH’s new centralized online system for issuing solicitations and receiving proposals or bids for university projects. The university is also using eBuilder, an online project management system implemented in 2016, to better administer the project.